SEARCH will reconvene on Tuesday, March 20, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Spruce Pine at 7:00 p.m.   This is an important meeting to which citizens from Mitchell and Yancey county are invited.  SEARCH stands for Sustaining Essential and Rural Community Healthcare.  During the meeting the public will be asked to give feedback on an organizational plan being developed for the next twelve months.

In addition SEARCH has formulated a proposed list of the essential healthcare services that should be available locally.  They will be laid out along with the possibility for a score card to rate if and how well these services are in fact being provided in the community.

Also on the agenda will be a discussion of the Community Listening Conversations on healthcare being developed by the Outreach Task Force. The overarching purpose of these conversations will be to expand and deepen community connections and understanding around issues related to community health.

A focused roundtable on healthcare is being planned for Burnsville in early May under the auspices of The Rural Center, N.C. Child, Care 4 Carolina, and the N.C. Hospital Association.  The details of that event will be shared at the SEARCH meeting.

To sign up for or get information about the meeting, please contact one of the facilitators:  in Mitchell County Risa Larsen at 765-1318 or Susan Larson at 765-2652; in Yancey County Karin Rolett at 675-9671.  Light refreshments will be served.